Evening in Oxford

I woke up on Thursday morning with an impromptu day off and an urge to leave town. I headed to Oxford and spent the morning wandering The Ashmolean – an absolutely beautiful museum of art and archeology attached to the University of Oxford (with a lovely, if challenged in the service department, rooftop restaurant at the top).

Call it a love for the old-fashioned, but there is something so atmospheric and romantic about wandering around Oxford at dusk. Even in the winter, when the sun sets before 4pm… the lights come on, the streets grow quiet, the teachers emerge in their robes, the students cycle home to their residences, tourists clear out for the day…. and a certain expat wanders around taking pictures…

Take the tour of Christ Church starting around 3:30pm – by the time you tour the Great Hall, the Cathedral and the main courtyard, the sun will be setting and you’ll be perfectly timed to exit the back entrance into the old cobblestone streets and residential entrances to many of the Oxford colleges. Many of the colleges are only open for visit for an hour or two a day by visitors… so you’ll have to strain to catch a glimpse into the inner courtyards every time a student goes into one of the old doorways.